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The fourth day of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2023 tournament will see the conclusion of the women's singles Round of 16.
Day 3 of the competition saw the likes of top seed Maria Sakkari and fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina book their place in the next round. Sakkari beat Varvara Gracheva, and Kalinina overcame Alycia Parks, but third seed Irina-Camelia Begu lost against Clara Tauson.
Anna-Lena Friedsam, Marketa Vondrousova, and Madison Brengle were the other winners on the day, beating Sara Errani, Rebeka Masarova, and Julia Grabher respectively.
The fourth day of singles main draw action in the Austrian city will feature five matches. Here's a look at the predictions for each contest:
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#1 Dalma Galfi vs Eva Lys
Dalma Galfi will take on Eva Lys on Thursday with a place in the last eight at Linz at stake.
The 92nd-ranked Galfi arrived at the Austrian city with a 0-4 record but emerged from qualifying to register her first win of the season, beating seventh seed Bernerda Pera in straight sets. Meanwhile, World No. 126 Lys also brought up her first win of the season in the opening round in Linz, beating Cristina Bucsa in three sets, having fallen in the first round at the Australian Open last month.
Galfi and Lys haven't squared off before, but expect Galfi to ride her winning streak and take this one.
Prediction: Galfi in straight sets
#2 Madison Brengle vs Donna Vekic
Madison Brengle will take on fifth seed Donna Vekic as she eyes a place in the quarterfinals in Linz.
Brengle, ranked 82nd in the world, snapped a four-match losing start to the year by beating Julia Grabher in straight sets in her opening round. World No. 33 Vekic, meanwhile, improved her record in 2023 to an impressive 8-1 by seeing off Tamara Korpatsch in her Linz opener earlier this week.
Brengle won her lone meeting with Vekic eight years ago in Charleston. However, considering the Croat's sizzling recent form - having made the Australian Open quarterfinals last month - expect Vekic to take this one without much trouble.
Prediction: Vekic in straight sets
#3 Clara Tauson vs Camila Giorgi
Clara Tauson will take on Italian Camila Giorgi in the Round of 16 at Linz on Thursday.
Tauson, ranked 141 in the world, got off the mark for the season by upsetting third seed Irina-Camelia Begu for the loss of just four games on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Dane will now eye back-to-back wins in Linz at the expense of Giorgi, who improved to 3-3 on the season by beating Jacqueline Cristian in her tournament opener.
The 73rd-ranked Italian is coming off a run to the third round of the Australian Open last month. She lost her lone meeting with Tauson in the Lyon quarterfinals two years ago. Going by current form, Giorgi will fancy her chances of squaring her head-to-head record against the young Dane, albeit in a tight contest.
Prediction: Giorgi in three sets
#4 Alison Van Uytvanck vs Petra Martic
Alison Van Uytvanck faces a tall task in the Round of 16 on Thursday, as she takes on sixth seed Petra Martic.
The 76th-ranked Van Uytvanck opened her season with consecutive wins in the inaugural United Cup and upset seventh seed Magda Linette in her Hobart opener. However, the 28-year-old Belgian lost to Xinyu Wang in the next round and stumbled in her Australian Open opener against Petra Kvitova.
Van Uytvanck is coming off a Round of 16 appearance in Lyon, where she lost to top seed Caroline Garcia. She beat Linda Noskova in straight sets in her opening round in Linz.
Meanwhile, Martic, ranked 34th in the world, won only one of her three singles matches at the United Cup before making the Australian Open second round (lost to Shuai Zhang). Like Van Uytvanck, the 32-year-old Croatian is also coming off a Round of 16 showing in Lyon before beating Marina Bassols Ribera in her Linz opener.
Martic has won both her previous meetings with Van Uyvanck - in 2018 and 2020 - and the trend should continue on Thursday.
Prediction: Martic in straight sets
#5 Anna-Lena Friedsam vs Anhelina Kalinina
Anna-Lena Friedsam will look to continue her winning run when she takes on fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine.
Ranked 126th in the world, Friedsam brought up her first win of the season by stunning top seed Varvara Gracheva in her opening round in Linz. Meanwhile, the 31st-ranked Kalinina has made a decent start to the year - winning five of her eight matches. The 26-year-old Ukrainian made the Australian Open third round and Hobart quarterfinals last month. She beat Alycia Parks in her Linz opener.
Friedsam and Kalinina have split their two previous meetings, but expect the latter to take this one because of her better recent form.
Prediction: Kalinina in straight sets
